The health benefits of regular exercise are well known. Many different types of exercise equipment have been developed over time, with various success, to facilitate exercise. Examples of successful classes of exercise equipment include the treadmill and the stair climbing machine. A conventional treadmill typically includes a continuous belt providing a moving surface that a user may walk, jog, or run on. A conventional stair climbing machine typically includes a pair of links adapted to pivot up and down providing a pair of surfaces or pedals that a user may stand on and press up and down to simulate walking up a flight of stairs.
Various embodiments and aspects of the present invention involve an exercise machine that provides side-by-side moving surfaces (treadles) that are pivotally supported at one end and adapted to pivot up and down at an opposite end. Such a device provides two pivotal moving surfaces in a manner that provides some or all of the exercise benefits of using a treadmill with some or all of the exercise benefits of using a stair climbing machine, as well as additional health benefits that are not recognized by a treadmill or a stair climbing machine alone.
With the advent of combination treadmill and stair stepper functions in an exercise device, the present inventors have recognized a need for advanced control of such devices. It is against this background that various embodiments of the present invention were developed.